Victim No More
by EmKayPink
Summary: Please read summary in Chapter 1. This is a SonnyEmily story.
1. Chapter 1

**Victim No More**

Background: Let's just say that Nikolas got killed in prison the night Connor is raping Emily. Let's also just say that Jason and Sam are out of town trying to build a life together. Reese's real identity was discovered shortly after Michael was returned and he killed AJ. Sonny wanted nothing to do with her. However, the resurrection of her childhood friend has made Carly make a total break from reality, much like Laura did. This is a story about what might have happened if Emily turned to Sonny after her rape.

Chapter 1:

"_Jason told me before he left that if I ever needed a place to go and feel safe, I could come see you. I'd like to stay here with you Sonny. I know you've got your hands full taking care of Michael and Morgan, now that Carly is at Ferncliff. I could help you out with them in exchange for letting me stay here."_

It had been raining the night Emily came to Sonny's house. He remembered how wet, alone and scared she looked standing in the foyer. He knew that something terrible must have happened for her to want to be there, and not at the Quartermaines. He didn't press the issue though. He was happy for the help. Emily was so good with the boys. She smiled when she was around them, and she made them smile. It was so nice to hear them laughing again. She was such a Godsend.

As time went by, Sonny noticed that when she thought she was alone, she spent a lot of time in front of the fireplace, silently crying. One night Sonny came home to find her thrashing around on the couch. He realized she was having a nightmare and went over to wake her up. The second his hand touched her, she shot up off the couch with a scream. Not realizing who he was, she dove to the nearest corner and crouched in fear.

"Emily, it's Sonny. Emily, can you hear me?" She stared wide eyed at him for a minute. "Emily, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Eventually, she realized who he was, and calmed down a little bit. She sat down in the corner and started to cry. Sonny tried to go over and comfort her, but before he could take two steps in her direction she begged him to stay away from her. "I'm only trying to help Emily."

"I know you are Sonny, but I just don't want any help right now." Slowly she got up from the corner and started to make her way upstairs to her bedroom. She tried to avoid his eyes, but she stopped when her eyes met his. "I can't tell you what it is right now Sonny. I can't tell anybody. I need time. Can you give me that?"

Sonny nodded his head, and Emily continued upstairs. She took off her robe, climbed into bed, and quietly cried herself to sleep.

Sonny had followed her upstairs and stood outside. He heard her crying, and he longed to bust in and hold her. There was something about her that made Sonny want to protect her from everything.

"_I'll be here when you're ready to tell me what it is Emily. I hope you know that."_

Sonny walked across the hall to his bedroom door, and glanced once more at her door before going to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, they all sat around the table for breakfast. Sonny had made his famous blueberry waffles. Michael and Morgan always enjoyed them. Emily smiled and laughed with the boys. Sonny watched her and knew she was putting up a front. He had done it for so many years that he knew the signs. He wished that she would open up to him, but he knew that she wouldn't. After breakfast, Emily said she was taking the boys outside for a while.

Meanwhile, Sonny made an important phone call.

"Hello Elizabeth, this is Sonny. I really need a favor from you. I don't know if you've seen much of Emily these days, but there's something wrong with her. I tried to calm her down after a bad dream last night and she about jumped out of her skin. I thought that when you had some time, you could come by for a visit. I recognized the signs of Carly's breakdown too late to help her. I can't help Emily right now. She won't let me. So I was hoping that you could try and help her. It would mean a lot to me."

"I'm glad you called me Sonny. Emily's made herself so scarce these days that I hadn't really had a chance to visit with her since Nikolas' funeral. Is this afternoon going to be alright?"

"Yes Elizabeth, that will be great. Thanks."

"No problem Sonny, I'll see you later."

Shortly after Sonny hung up the phone, Emily came downstairs. She smiled at him, but he could tell it wasn't real. "Do you mind staying here with the boys while I go take care of some things?"

"Of course not Sonny. You know that I'm happy to be around them. They bring a lot of joy into my life." Emily smiled once again, but the smile never reached her eyes.

"Alright, I'll see you later." Sonny walks out of the room, and into the foyer. He silently watches as Emily sits down on the couch and hugs herself. She gets a far away look on her face. The longer she sits there, the stiffer she gets. It's almost as if she's afraid of something. _"But what could it be? Hopefully Elizabeth will be able to find something out."_ Sonny quietly walks out the front door and steps into the waiting car.

About an hour after Sonny leaves, Elizabeth shows up. She knocks on the door and is shocked by the sight of Emily. This is not the Emily she knows. She looks small and afraid. Emily tries to quickly cover by smiling and hugging her, but it's too late. Elizabeth knows something is terribly wrong and will do anything to find out what it is.

"It's so good to see you Liz. I'm sorry that I haven't been around much. I've been busy taking care of Michael and Morgan for Sonny. Being around the boys is helping me get over Nikolas being killed. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to fully recover from that. I loved him so much."

"I know you did Em. I'm sorry that things turned out the way they did. Let's go see if Sonny has any ice cream in the freezer and have some girl time."

"That sounds like fun. I haven't had any of that in a long time."

The girls not only find some vanilla ice cream, but some double fudge brownies. They put brownies in a bowl, top them with the ice cream, and then with some chocolate sauce. They laugh and talk about fun memories. The entire time Elizabeth watches Emily. She watches her body language most intently. Eventually, she thinks she's figured out what's wrong with Emily, but she prays she is wrong. If she's right, then something truly horrible has happened to her best friend.

"Em, I'm here for two reasons. I came because I wanted to see you, but I'm also here because Sonny is worried about you. He said he came in and saw you having a bad dream, and when he touched you, you screamed and bolted into a corner. Please talk to me. Tell me what's going on. What happened to you?"

The smile fades from Emily's face and she looks down at the table. "I have a feeling you already suspect what's happened to me Liz."

"Were you raped Em?" Emily slowly nodded her head yes as the tears she had kept at bay for so long spilled out of her eyes. "Oh Em! Who did this to you? We need to make sure he gets locked up for a very long time!"

"He can't be locked up Liz. It was Connor. One night he just came at me in the basement. I tried to fight him off, but I wasn't strong enough." Emily started sobbing. "I yelled and I screamed and he hit me. All I could do was yell no over and over again in my head while it happened."

Elizabeth slowly went to her friend and put her arms around her. Emily flinched for a second, but then sobbed even harder on her friends shoulder. "Oh God Liz, you're the first person I've told. I was so ashamed. I should have known I could tell you. Can you forgive me for not saying something sooner?"

Elizabeth smiled and looked at her friend. "Em, I am not mad at you, and there's nothing to forgive. I've been through this myself remember? You do things at a pace that works for you. Now, why can't Connor be locked up?"

"Because he's dead, Liz. That night, I set fire to the place and he died in the fire. That's another reason I didn't report the rape. I killed him, and I didn't want anybody to know. Nobody knows that Connor was in there. They all think he's out of town. You can't tell anybody."

"You can count on me Em. I won't say a thing to anybody. I'm glad that you finally told me. I can help you if you will let me. I won't push you to do anything you don't want to do. I will promise to always be there when you need to talk about this."

Elizabeth hugged her friend again, looked at her and smiled. "You're one of the strongest people I know Em, and I just know you'll get through this. I hope that you'll at least think about going to counseling. It does help. Just think about it. No pressure, I promise. Now, I've got to get going. We'll have to have some girl time again soon."

Emily smiled as Elizabeth left.

"_Okay Em, that's step one. Where are you going to go from here? You owe it to the people that love you to find a way to get past this."_


	3. Chapter 3

Uh yeah, can we say writer's block? I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. And without further ado, let the story continue.

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After leaving Emily, Elizabeth called Sonny.

"Hi Sonny. I was able to figure out what's wrong with Emily. The only thing is, I can't tell you what it is."

"Why can't you tell me? I hope you know that because she's Jason's sister, that I care about her and I want to make sure she's alright."

"I have no doubt that you're worried about her and that you want to help her. I just can't tell you what happened to her. This is something she's going to have to tell you herself, and you're just going to have to wait until she's ready to tell you."

"If you can't tell me what it is, can you at least tell me what I can do for her until she's comfortable telling me what it is?"

"The first, and most important thing, is that you need to respect her personal space. Try to avoid touching her unless she touches you first. Secondly, you should try to include her in as many normal activities as you can. Things like watching movies with the kids, or taking them to school. You should keep her busy, but not too busy. Allow her some time for herself everyday, she's going to need that. Third, just try not to treat her like a breakable object. She's a strong young woman to have made it through this for this long. Be careful with her, but don't act as though she's fragile. If you act like you're trying to be careful, she's going to think that you see her as being weak. One thing that you could do for her that would really be special is to go buy her a diary or journal. Make sure it's simple but somewhat frilly. Just tell her that you wanted to get her something for helping to take care of the boys if she wonders what prompted the gift. That's really all I can say. I hope that helps."

"That helps alot Elizabeth. I really appreciate you calling me. I want to help her, but I'll wait until she's ready to let me help. Feel free to stop by anytime to visit. I know she'd love that."

"I will stop by again soon. Thanks for asking me to visit with her. She's lucky to have you in her life."

Sonny hangs up the phone, sits back in the seat of his limo and sighs deeply. _"I don't know who did what to you Emily, but I swear I'm gonna take care of you so that you'll feel safe."_

After going to check on his coffee business, Sonny makes a stop at a local book store. He looks around for a couple minutes, having no luck finding any journals. Finally he approaches a store clerk for help.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes you can. I'm wanting to purchase a journal for a young woman friend of mine. She's my best friend's sister and she's been staying with me to help me take care of my sons. I think she may have recently gone through something terrible, and I thought maybe being able to write about it might help."

The woman smiled at him warmly. "Our journals are right over here." She walked a couple aisles over and showed Sonny their collection. "Do you know what style she would want?"

"I think she would want something that's simple, but just a little on the feminine side. If you had one with a lock on it, that would be great. I have two young boys, and I wouldn't want them to be able to open it."

"Here is our best seller. It comes in lavendar, blue, back, grey and burgundy. It has a voice recognition lock on it. Key locks on most journals are just so easy to pick you know. Is this what you're looking for?"

"Yes, this will be perfect. I'll take a lavendar one." The lady picks up a lavendar journal, and starts to hand it to Sonny. "Do you have a wrapping service? I'm not very good at that myself. "We sure do, but you'll have to pay a small fee for that."

"That's fine. I'll pay whatever amount of money it takes."

The woman takes the journal over to the wrapping desk, puts it in a nice box and starts to wrap it. "Your young woman friend is going to love this. You must love her very much."

"She's my best friend's sister. She' like family to me, and I enjoy doing things to make her happy. Her brother is out of town right now, so I want to take care of her like he would if he were here."

The woman smiles and nods. She finishes wrapping the journal and swipes Sonny's card through the machine. Then she hands the journal to Sonny and smiles again as she watches him get into his limo.

"I predict that this young woman is going to mean more to him than just family when all is said and done."


	4. Chapter 4

When Sonny came home, he found Emily, Michael and Morgan sitting by the fireplace. Morgan was sitting in Emily's lap turning the pages of the story Michael was reading. It was a funny story about a dog that went to the zoo looking for his mommy. Morgan was giggling and it made Emily smile. For a moment, all Sonny could do was watch. He was so happy to see Emily truly smile for the first time in a very long time. He wished he could wrap this moment up for her so that she could always feel that way.

When the story was over, Michael looked up to see his father standing at the door.

"Dad! You're home. Did you hear me reading? Didn't I do a good job?"

Sonny looked at Emily who was beaming with pride. Emily smiled at Michael and let Morgan down to go run over and hug Sonny. As Sonny picked Morgan up, he smiled at Emily. "You did a great job champ. I'm very proud of you."

"Aunt Emily has been helping me to read better. Isn't she great?"

"Yes Michael, Emily is really great. We're all very lucky to have her here with us. It's almost bed time, please take Morgan upstairs and get ready for bed, and I'll be up in a few mintues."

"Okay Dad. C'mon Morgan, let's go." Sonny set Morgan down, and he grabbed ahold of Michael's hand and let his big brother lead him upstairs. Sonny smiled at them as they went. Then he turned to look at Emily.

"You're doing a really good job with them. I meant what I said to the boys about being lucky to have you here. I don't know how we would have managed without you. Ever since Carly lost it, the boys haven't had it easy. But you've managed to teach them to smile, laugh and live again. It means more to me than you'll ever know."

"It's not a big deal. They've helped me to find some joy in my life as well." Emily sat down nervously on the couch. She looked down at the floor for a moment and then looked at Sonny. "I'm sorry about last night. I hope I didn't freak you out. I know that eventually I'm gonna have to tell you what's going on with me, but I just can't right now."

"Emily, you don't ever have to tell me what's going on with you if you don't want to. The choice is up to you. I'm not going to push you. I want to do whatever I can to help you, but only in whatever way will work best for you."

"Being so understanding about it is help enough for now. I can't thank you enough for being here for me. Between you, the boys, and my friends, I'll get better eventually."

"Well since you don't feel comfortable talking to me about whatever it is just yet, I got you something that might work for you." Sonny handed Emily the wrapped box.

Emily smiled as she delicately opened the gift. When she opened the box, the smile faded from her face.

"Did I make a mistake? I thought writing about whatever it was might help. I can always take it back if you don't want it."

Emily shook her head no and looked at Sonny. Traces of tears were visible in her eyes. "This is perfect Sonny." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "This is absolutely perfect. I've been wanting a journal, but never got around to getting myself one. It's been hard to go out in public these days. I don't feel safe out there."

"The lady at the store said this one has a voice recognition lock on it. So even if the boys stumble upon it and try to open it, they won't be able to. I wanted you to know that whatever you wrote in there would be private."

Without warning Emily came over and hugged Sonny ever so gently. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and then looked at him. "Thank you so much Sonny. This means so much to me."

"Anything for you Emily. I really mean that. If there is ever anything you need, please let me know."

"I think I'm going to go upstairs, say goodnight to the boys, and then go write my first entry in my journal. Thanks again Sonny."

Emily smiled and went upstairs. Sonny watched her go, and when she was out of sight, he put his hand on his face where she had kissed him. She had totally taken him by surprise with that one little action. He had hoped that she liked the gift he had gotten her. He never expected her to hug him and then kiss him on the cheek.

_"Maybe she's learning that she really can trust me to be here and not to hurt her."_

Upstairs Emily goes into her room after telling the boys goodnight. She reads the instructions on how to program the voice recognition lock, and then starts her first journal entry.

_"Dear Diary,_

_Sonny brought you home for me tonight. I couldn't believe it. I acted like such a freak yesterday and instead of being upset with me, he did something to try and make things better for me. I'm so lucky to have him in my life. Jason always said that I could trust him, and I know now that I can. Do I trust him enough to tell him about the rape? I'm not sure yet. Only time will tell. Until next time, chow."_


	5. Chapter 5

(_One Month Later_)

Emily was sitting in her room looking out the window. Sonny was on his way to take Michael and Morgan over to see Bobbie for a few hours. She smiled as she watched the boys run around while Sonny chased them to get them into the car. She went over and sat down at her desk to write a new entry in her journal.

_"Dear Diary,_

_This past month has been such a blur. Sonny and the boys have made me feel so alive. I was wondering if I'd really ever feel safe again, and I finally do. I feel like I'm with family when I'm here. Today is the day I'm going to tell Sonny about the rape. I just hope that he doesn't see me differently when I tell him. I don't think I could take that. I'll write more later and let you know how it goes. Until next time, chow."_

Emily locked her diary and set it down on top of the desk. She went downstairs and made herself some hot chocolate to try and ease her nerves. She wasn't quite sure how Sonny was going to take this whole thing, but she knew that she needed him to know.

_"When did he become so important to me? When did his opinion of me seem to matter so much? Lately when he's around me I feel nervous, but in a good way. Every time I look in his eyes, I see the woman I want to be. I really hope he takes this information well. I don't know what I'd do if he made me leave him and the boys."_

Emily sat down next to the fireplace with her hot chocolate, trying to steady herself. "You know you can't put this off any longer. You have to tell him everything, no matter what. If you're going to be living with the man and his children, you owe him nothing less." Emily closed her eyes and awaited Sonny's return.

When Sonny's car pulled into the driveway, his cell phone rang. "Yes?"

"Mr. Corinthos, this is Johnny. The Five Families have called a meeting for tonight. I thought you should know."

"I can't attend tonight Johnny. I've got something else that really requires my attention tonight. I want you to come here to stand watch out front, and I'll send Max in my place. The Five Families know that they can trust him to know what I'd want should there be any decisions that need to be made." Sonny hung up the phone. "Max, as soon as Johnny gets here, I need you to go attend a meeting with the Five Families. I have something really important I have to do here tonight, and I need you to be there in my place."

"You can count on me Mr. Corinthos. I'll be there."

Max and Sonny both walked into the house. "From the moment I walk through this door, until I say otherwise, I don't want to be disturbed for any reason that doesn't involve an emergency with the boys. Pass that along to Johnny when he gets here." Max nodded and Sonny walked through the door into the main living room. Emily was sitting by the fireplace and got up when she heard him come through the door. Sonny took off his coat and hung it up. He smiled at Emily and said, "I'm all yours."

For a brief moment Emily's mind took that statement someplace she had no right to. She blushed slightly and then asked Sonny to join her over at the fireplace. Sonny took the other chair next to the fireplace as Emily sat back down in the chair she had been in when he came in. She sat there quietly for a minute and then she started.

"Do you remember a man named Connor who looked almost exactly like Nikolas?"

"I do remember him. I haven't seen him around for quite a while."

"Nobody will ever see him again Sonny. Not after what happened."

"Do you really want to tell me this? You know you don't have to."

"But I need to tell you. You need to know because there's something I'm going to ask of you after you know what happened."

"Alright, then please continue."

Emily nodded and chewed her bottom lip for a moment before continuing her story.

"The night that Nikolas was being killed in prison, Connor raped me. He came after me and I ran into the basement. I locked the door and hid under the stairs. He broke down the door and found me, and then he h..h.. held me down." Emily paused for a second, trying to compose herself. "After it was all over, he fell asleep. While he was sleeping, I set the cottage on fire and watched it burn to the ground. I wanted to make sure he never got out."

Emily started to cry quietly. The more Sonny thought about what that man had done, the angrier he got. "I know there's nothing I can say that would mean anything right now Emily. I'm glad that you told me. It explains a lot. You said there was something you were going to ask of me. What is it? What can I do?"

"Nobody knows I was raped. If anybody ever found out that I killed Connor, I'd probably wind up in jail. I was hoping that you'd help me get rid of any trace of the cottage so nobody can ever discover what happened there. It's out in a remote area, so I'm sure nobody even knows that it was burnt to the ground."

"I'll get somebody on that right away, I just need an address. I'm glad that you felt like you could trust me enough to tell me this. I know it must have been hard on you."

He could tell Emily was crying a bit harder now. He got up and stood in front of her. "I don't know if you'd be comfortable with this, but if you'd like me to hold you for a few minutes, I would do that for you."

Without saying a word, Emily stood up and let Sonny hug her. They stood like that for a few minutes until she had calmed down. Emily looked up at Sonny, her eyes swollen from the crying. "You're not disappointed in me are you? I'm sure you probably never expected me to have killed somebody."

"There's nothing you could ever do that would make me be disappointed in you. If anything, I'm impressed by the strength you've shown to survive something like that. I just wish I had been there to protect you."

"It's nobody's fault but Connor's. Thanks for listening to me and agreeing to help me out."

"Anytime Emily. I want you to know that I'll always be there to help you no matter what."

Sonny and Emily sat down next to the fireplace in silence for a while, letting everything set in. After a few minutes, Emily crept over to Sonny and sought comfort in his arms.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been having a major case of writer's block. But last night as I was laying in bed getting ready to fall asleep, I was given some major inspiration for this story, as well as my other story, I Will Remember You. It turns out the Army didn't move us. However, they may still move us this summer. I do think I'll have both stories finished before then though. That way I don't have to leave y'all hanging. Thanks for all the feedback you've given me. And now, on with the story._

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That night Emily tossed and turned in her sleep. Telling Sonny about the rape had caused her to see Connor in her dreams. She was in Sonny's house, but everywhere she turned, Connor was there, laughing at her like he had that night.

_"By the time I'm done with you Emily, Nikolas will never want to be with you again. No man will ever want to be with you."_

Somewhere in her dreams she must have screamed because all of a sudden Sonny was there calling out her name.

"Are you okay Emily? Emily, wake up, it's only a dream."

Emily sat straight up in bed, a little confused until she realized where she was. When she saw Sonny sitting at the edge of the bed looking worried, she started to cry.

"He was here Sonny. Everytime I turned a corner, there he was, laughing at me and taunting me. He said no man will ever want to be with me. Is that true Sonny? Am I damaged goods now?" She started sobbing.

Trying to remain calm as she told him about her dream, Sonny grew more and more angry at Connor for having done something so evil to someone as pure as Emily. In some ways she reminded him of his mother, and how she felt after Deke had beaten her. When Emily asked him if she was damaged goods, it was like a stab to his heart. "Emily you are not damaged goods, do you hear me?" Emily nodded ever so slightly. "What that son of a bitch did to you is not something that you should ever be punished for, or feel guilty about. First thing tomorrow I'm going to go out with my men and supervise getting rid of any and all evidence of the cottage. The next person who goes out there will think that somebody had dug up the site to build a house, but nothing had ever been built. I promise you that you'll never have to worry about this ever again."

"You've been so kind to me Sonny. I know now why Jason loves and protects you so much. Being here with you and the boys is slowly giving me back my life. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough. Do you think you could sit with me until I can get back to sleep?"

"You bet I will. There's nothing I won't do for you. You're Jason's little sister and he'd hurt me if I didn't take care of you." Emily giggled and closed her eyes. "I'm so lucky to have such good men in my life." She reached out and held Sonny's hand in hers. He patted the back of it with his free hand. A few minutes later she was peacefully asleep, the look of worry and doubt was gone from her face.

The next morning Sonny left with some of his men to go out to the site of the burnt down cabin. When he arrived, he was stunned by what he saw. There before him was a huge pile of ash, most of which had settled in what he could imagine had been the basement. He imagined that the cabin had been a decent size before Emily burned it to the ground.

_"I hate what that animal did to you Emily. I will make this right for you. I'm not sure how, but I'm going to make this right for you."_

"Okay men, get to work. I want this to look like an empty site before the end of the day. I don't want one single molecule of ash left, and I don't want any evidence that any house ever stood on this site."

Immediately his men got to work. By noon they had removed all of the ash and torn down what had been left of the framework. When they took a break all that had to be done was dig out the remains of the basement. Just before the men were ready to get back to work, his phone rang.

"What's going on Max? Is everything okay with Emily?"

"She's fine Mr. Corinthos. She went to go spend some time with Elizabeth, and Johnny went with her."

"So why are you calling me then Max?"

"A Mrs. Helena Cassadine is here to see you. She isn't happy that you weren't here. She asked me to call you and tell you that you needed to drop whatever you were doing and get here right away. She won't tell me what it's about, but she does seem rather agitated."

"Alright Max, tell her it's going to take me at least an hour to get back. Ask her if she wants to wait that long, or if I can meet with her later this evening."

Sonny waited as Max relayed the message. He could hear Helena's annoyed voice, but couldn't make out what she was saying. It did appear that after she said what she wanted, she had left.

"She is quite annoyed at having to wait to meet with you, but said that she would be back at 7pm this evening. She asked that you be here at that time since she has a very pressing matter to discuss with you."

"Alright Max, thanks. When Emily comes back, tell her that I'm going to be taking care of some business at that time, and if she could make herself scarce with the boys, I'd really appreciate it."

"You got it Mr. Corinthos."

Sonny hung up the phone and started to pace a bit. He really didn't have to guess what she wanted to discuss with him. "Okay men, we've got a bit of a problem. The one woman who could make this really messy for me could very well be on her way out here to this site. I want this finished in the next 45 minutes! We need to get everything cleared out of here before she has time to get out here."

Amazingly enough, the men had gotten rid of the remains of the basement and all that was left was a hole in the ground where a burned cabin had stood. There was absolutely no proof that any building had ever been built there.

"You guys did an amazing job. Your efforts have just earned you triple pay for your time today. Since I don't want Mrs. Cassadine to see any of us passing her on her way out here, we're going to go the opposite direction, and take the highway back to Port Charles. Once there, I'll head back home. I want you guys to take the remains to the factory and have it all incinerated."

As Sonny rode back to Port Charles in the back of the limosine, he sat basking in the accomplishment of the day. Not even Queen Cassadine would be able to find one shred of proof that the cabin had been burned down with Connor inside it.

_"You're home free Emily. Nobody will ever trace you to Connor's death."_


	7. Chapter 7

When Sonny came home a half an hour before his meeting with Helena, Max was waiting at the front door.

"Emily got back about ten minutes ago, and said she would keep the boys upstairs during your meeting."

"Very good."

Sonny walked into the living room, and sat down at his desk. He mentally prepared himself for his meeting with Helena. The only thing he couldn't quite figure out was why it had taken her this long to inquire after Connor. Maybe she already had been out to the site and had collected some proof against Emily. He hadn't even really thought of that until just now. As soon as Emily had told him what had happened to her, he had sent some men out to see if they could find Helena. They had all come back with nothing to report, except that they were sure she wasn't anywhere near or around Port Charles.

_"You've dealt with people more powerful than Helena, you just need to keep your wits about you. You owe it to Emily to protect her. No matter what Helena says, it's best not to take it at face value until you can prove otherwise. Hopefully Emily will just stay upstairs with the boys."_

Unfortunately, that was all the time he had to collect his thoughts since Helena burst into the room fifteen minutes early.

"I want to know right now what the hell you did to Connor and the cottage he had been staying in."

"I assure you Mrs. Cassadine that I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"Don't you try and lie to me Mr. Corinthos. I know Emily is here, and I know that the tramp did something to my nephew. The very fact that she came running to you after Nikolas died is proof of that."

"Mrs. Cassadine, I'm afraid that you know more about your nephew than I do. Emily hasn't told me much about her private life since she came here after Nikolas died. She's been helping me take care of my boys since Carly went to Ferncliff."

"Then perhaps you can explain to me why there's a big hole in the ground where Connor's cottage used to be?"

"Again, Mrs. Cassadine, I don't know what cottage you're talking about. All I know is that Emily came here after Nikolas died, because Jason told her she could come stay with me if she needed someplace to go while he was gone."

At that moment, Emily appeared at the top of the stairs. She had heard most of the conversation from the hall. She had been coming down just to grab a toy Morgan had left in the living room, and had hidden there as soon as she heard Helena's angry voice downstairs. As soon as Helena noticed that she was there, she started to make her way downstairs.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Sonny. I just came down to grab a toy for Morgan really quick. I'll just grab it and let you get back to your business."

"Where do you think you're going Emily? I demand that you tell me what you did to my nephew Connor."

"Helena, I didn't do anything to Connor. When I heard about Nikolas, I left him at his cottage. I've been here ever since."

"You're a liar! I know you did something to him. He wouldn't just disappear and not try to contact me!"

"Connor didn't even like you Helena. He only ever used you to get to me as revenge for what happened between his wife and Nikolas. That's all you were worth to him. If he's gone and hasn't told you where, than I say good for him. Now, if you're done throwing around your accusations, I'll be heading back upstairs to take Morgan his toy." Emily walked over to the couch to pick up the toy.

"I want to know what you did to him you tramp!" Helena started towards Emily like she was going to hurt her. Sonny grabbed her by the arm and twisted her around.

"Don't you dare go anywhere near her Helena. While her brother Jason is out of town, I'm looking after her. If I find out that you've gone near her, I will make sure nobody in this town ever hears from you again. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Let go of my arm, you're hurting me." Sonny started to smile. "Oh I doubt this hurts you too badly. You've still got your fangs out. I'll let you go when you answer my question. Do you understand that you'll be dead before I'll ever let you hurt Emily?"

"Yes, I understand. I also understand that as soon as I can prove she did something to Connor, I'm going to make sure she pays dearly for it." Sonny let go of her arm, and she rubbed it.

"You can try fabricating any kind of evidence you want against Emily. I guarantee you that you'll never get a chance to use it. I won't let you. Like I've said, since Jason isn't here, it's my job to take care of any threats to her. That includes you, and any attempts you make to try and get her arrested. Once Jason gets back, you'll have a whole new problem on your hands. I suggest that you drop this pathetic attempt to frighten Emily. Otherwise, the next time we meet, it won't be quite so, uh, cordial."

"You can have it your way for now Mr. Corinthos. I will have my revenge, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Don't be too sure about that Mrs. Cassadine. MAX! Please escort Mrs. Cassadine to her car and make sure that all the guards know that she's not allowed anywhere on the grounds unless she's been given direct permission from me."

"You got it Mr. Corinthos." Max grabbed Helena and dragged her out of the house. He shoved her in her waiting car and watched as it drove out the gate. Then he walked back inside. "All clear Mr. Corinthos."

"Thank you Max. That will be all." Max closed the door and Sonny turned around to Emily. When he saw her, she was white as a sheet. "Emily, please sit down, you don't look so good."

Emily slowly sat down. "She knows Sonny. I don't know how she knows, but she does. Oh my God, I'm going to jail aren't I?"

Sonny went over and sat on the couch next to her. "If Helena had any proof of what you did to Connor, she would have held it over you already. The thing is, my men went out today and cleaned up the site where the cottage used to be. We left no trace of anything. There's no trace of a house on that site at all. I made sure of it. Everything we removed from that site today was taken to a factory that I own and incinerated. There's nothing left for her to find. She will never be able to prove anything other than Connor has disappeared without a trace. I promise you that she will never be able to do anything to hurt you."

Emily leaned into Sonny and he put his arm around her shoulder. "Thanks for helping me Sonny. I can't tell you how grateful I am. I trust you, I really do. I just don't trust her, and I know she's not going to simply give up and go away. She's not going to rest until she finds some way to punish me. I'm sure she also blames me for Nikolas dying in prison. She's always hated me you know. She's an evil woman."

Emily started to cry softly and Sonny hugged her tighter. "I promise you on my life that she'll never be able to hurt you."

_"I'll kill that woman before she ever gets the chance. You mean too much to me Emily. I swear nobody will ever hurt you again while I'm around."_


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: This chapter is so much longer than my other ones. I think the key was that as I typed this, I had some romantic music playing. Maybe from now on that's what I need to do when I write my stories. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write._

_

* * *

Dear Diary,_

_The past week has flown by so quickly. After Helena left, Sonny brought me and the boys to a place that he refers to as 'the island'. Sometimes I'll catch him sitting on the balcony facing the beach with a far away look on his face. I think this place holds many memories for him. I wonder if someday he'll be able to open up to me, like I've been able to open up to him. I feel so safe when I'm with Sonny. He makes me feel like there's nothing he wouldn't do to keep me from ever feeling a moment of pain. This place is so beautiful. The water is an amazing color, and the sand on the beaches is so fine and soft. I have enjoyed many evenings on the beach watching the waves hit the beach, letting all my cares be carried out into the ocean with the undertow. Tonight Sonny said he's got a surprise for me. Leticia will be taking the boys to see a movie so that we can be alone. There are times I must admit that I feel nervous when I'm alone with him. The more I'm around him, the stronger this feeling becomes. I'm not quite sure what this all means. It's been a very long time since I felt this way around a man. On the one hand it's quite encouraging. Maybe this means that I'm not completely broken as a woman inside. On the other hand, it's a little disturbing. Sonny is Jason's best friend. Not only that, he's considerably older than me. I guess I'm just being silly. I mean there's no way in a million years that I could fall in love with Sonny Corinthos. I'm sure it's just a silly crush and eventually it will go away. Right now I need to go get out of my swimsuit so I can hear all about the surprise. Until next time, chow._

Meanwhile Sonny had been watching Emily out on the beach. She had walked at the waters edge for a while, and then sat down to write an entry in the journal he had bought her. Sometimes he wondered what she was thinking. She was such a mystery to him. She had endured more than any woman should have to, and was able to retain an incredible amount of inner strength. She was definitely Jason's sister. That's why he felt so protective of her.

_"You know it's more than that. I hate to break it to you my man, but you're starting to see her as much more than just Jason's little sister. She is unlike most women you've known. You're drawn to her for reasons you can't quite put your finger on. You need to watch yourself when you're around her. You don't want your new feelings towards her, whatever they may be, to make her feel uncomfortable around you. That's the last thing she needs, and you know you'd never forgive yourself is the reason she was hurt was because of you."_

Sonny silently nodded to himself. He knew that he had to focus on keeping her safe until Jason came back. He also had the project that he was working on for her. It was the surprise he had wanted to tell her in private. It had to do with her rape, so he didn't want the boys to be here to hear about it. Emily was in charge of when, or if, she told them about what happened to her. When Sonny saw Emily get up and start back towards the house, he went back inside to wait for her.

Emily walked into the room she was staying in. Sonny had made sure it had been filled with flowers and candles, so that it always smelled nice. Of course, she could also open the french doors and let the breeze blow in off the ocean too. Many nights she left them open so the breeze would make its way to the bed, and let the feel of it put her to sleep. She changed out of the shorts and tank top she had worn down to the beach, and traded them for a pair of capris, a pretty short sleeve blouse and some cute sandals. She had gotten a nice tan while being here, and liked to show off at least some of it. Around her ankle was an anklet she had spotted in one of the local markets that had small sea shells on it. Sonny had seen the way she had looked at it, and had bought it for her without her even having to ask. Sometimes she swore the man was an absolute mind reader. After taking one final look at herself in the mirror, she went to the living room where Sonny was waiting for her.

When she entered the room she looked so much at peace. She had a glow all around her face and eyes. This was the first time he had seen her look like this since that fateful day she showed up on his doorstep soaked by the rain. She looked so beautiful like this. He wanted her to look this happy and at peace always. He hoped that the surprise he had to tell her would help with that.

"Hey Sonny. How has your day been so far?" Sonny smiled at the way she was trying to play off being excited to know the surprise. "It's been a good day for me. I hope that my surprise will make this a great day for you." At the mention of the word surprise, Emily's eyes began to sparkle.

_"Get a hold of yourself man. You can't allow yourself to be distracted by the fact that she looks absolutely gorgeous right now. Just tell her the secret and get it over with."_

_"Oh God, why does he have to smile like that? Is he trying to make me go weak in the knees on purpose? Why can't he just tell me the secret before I can't think of anything else besides how really yummy he looks right now?"_

"So are you going to tell me what this secret is, or are you going to make me beg?"

For a brief second Sonny's eyebrows raised at the image that statement evoked in him. He recovered quickly and started to chuckle.

_"Did he just take that comment the way I think he did? Oh come on Emily. A man like him would never be interested in someone your age. Get a grip and focus on the surprise. You remember that don't you?"_

"Well I was thinking about making you beg, but I reconsidered that after seeing how nice you look."

_"What the hell are you saying? What the hell are you doing? Are you really flirting with her? Just tell her the damn surprise already. You know you can't be anything more than just a friend to her. Think of yourself as her big brother. Yeah right."_

Sonny sat down at the table. "I think you're gonna want to sit for this, so come over here to the table with me."

_"Walk Emily, just walk. You know how to do that right? One foot in front of the other, that's good. Quit acting like such a dork."_

Emily sat down at the table opposite of Sonny. Trying to retain her composure while looking at him she asked him what the surprise was. At that point, Sonny's posture became a bit more rigid, almost like part of this was going to be bad news.

"I know that lately you've been going to counseling for the rape. I'm proud of you for going, by the way. I can tell it's really made a difference in how well you're dealing with it."

"Part of how well I'm dealing with it is being with you and the boys. I feel safe with you. I can't imagine going to counseling while living with my family. I just wouldn't feel as safe there as I do. I really owe you alot for being there for me during this time of my life."

The last few words she said were barely above a whisper and he was afraid he had upset her. "I didn't mean to make you upset or think about something so painful Emily. I wouldn't have brought it up, but it has something to do with my surprise. If you need some time, I can wait until later to tell you."

Emily looked up suddenly. "Don't you dare go anywhere until you've told me the surprise. It's been driving me crazy all day long."

_"That's not the only thing that's been driving you crazy my dear girl. Don't look now, but I think you're drooling."_

Emily grimaced for a second. "I'm fine really. The only reason I got choked up a bit was because I'm so terribly thankful for you and the boys being in my life. You know how we girls can get when we get teary-eyed over good things. Now, please tell me what the surprise is, before you force me to torture it out of you."

Once again, Emily swore she saw Sonny's eyebrows raise in a curious manner. What in the heck was wrong with her?

"Well since counseling has been going so well for you, I've decided to build a counseling center for women who are victims of rape or domestic violence. Not only would it be a place women could go for counseling, but it would be a facility where women could live if they didn't have anywhere safe they could go. I was thinking of naming it the Adella Bowen Center for Women's Safety and Wellness. I decided to use my mother's first name, and your original last name. My mother was a victim of domestic violence, so I thought it would be fitting to include her name."

For a moment Emily sat in stunned silence. Then she walked out onto the balcony hugging her arms to her chest. Sonny quietly followed her. "Did I do or say something wrong? I should have known this was a bad idea. Please Emily, tell me what I can do to make this better."

_"You're such a buffoon Sonny. How did you think she was going to take this?"_

Every moment that she stood there not looking at him was pure agony. But those moments didn't hurt nearly as much as when she turned to look at him with tears in her eyes. "Oh God Emily, I'm so sorry. I swore nobody would ever hurt you again, and I did just that."

Without warning, Emily was in his arms, crying. All he could do was hold her. They stood that way for a few minutes until she calmed down. Sonny led her to a nearby swing where they both sat down. Emily looked at him, with a shimmer of tears still in her eyes.

"I don't know what to say Sonny. Nobody in my whole life has done something like this for me. There don't seem to be any words to tell you how much this means to me. It's the most beautiful and amazing thing I've heard in a very long time. I'd be honored to have my name combined with your mothers in the name of this shelter you're going to build. You're such an amazing person Sonny. Just when I think there's nothing else you could do to shock me, impress me or make me love and respect you anymore than I already do, you come up with something."

_"Did she just say she loved me? Focus man. For the love of God FOCUS!"_

"So you're not mad at me? You really like my surprise?"

"I love it Sonny. I love it so much. Where are you going to have it built? It should be somewhere remote. We don't want them to feel like just anybody can gain access to this place that's supposed to be a safe haven for them."

"I can't tell you where I'm going to build it. Let's just say I found what I think is the perfect plot of land to put it on. I just need to get some plans drawn up, and the building can start right away. I just didn't want to start this project until you said it was something you wanted."

"This is the best surprise I've ever gotten in my whole life. Am I going to be able to have any say in how it all looks? I want to at least be able to design the decor in the rooms these women are going to be staying in."

"You'll be able to make all the decisions on the layout and design of this place. All I'm going to contribute is the land and the money to get it built. I want you to take care of everything else. So are you up for this?"

"I've never been more up for anything before this. I'm so excited about this, I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to get to sleep tonight. Would you mind sitting out here with me for a while and look at the stars with me?"

"There's nobody else I'd rather do that with than you Emily." He smiled at her and part of her melted a bit inside. He got comfortable on the swing, and then Emily leaned into him getting herself comfortable. They sat that way for about half an hour. Sonny was about to ask Emily if she was cold, when he looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep. He carefully picked her up and carried her to bed. Then he kissed her on the forehead, smiled at her, and left her room. After closing the door behind him, it finally hit him hard.

_"Oh my God, I'm falling in love with my best friends sister! Jason is gonna kill me when he finds out."_


	9. Chapter 9

They had gotten back from the island the Sunday after Sonny had told her about the center. That was three weeks ago. Since then, she had talked to three different architects until she had found one that had a design that she really liked. The plans called for 100 rooms, each with their own bathroom, bedroom, living space and small kitchen. There was a cafeteria on the premises, but she decided that the women should also be able to cook for themselves if they wanted to. Inside this main building, there were 10 meeting rooms so that the groups could remain small, so as not to overwhelm the women that met there. There was also one big hall that would serve as a theater, with a movie screen that came down in front of the stage. She had hoped to get guest speakers in there every now and then to keep the women encouraged and uplifted. On the property there would also be small apartment buildings, each of which consisted of four two bedroom and two three bedroom apartments, in case a woman who was fleeing domestic abuse had children. A small clinic would also be on the grounds, to provide medical care as it was needed. There was a big swimming pool and a pond on the property as well. In the middle of the pond was a fountain. It was supposed to represent an eternal spring of hope that she hoped every woman who came to the center felt.

The next two things that she had to get working on was the interior design and landscaping. She really didn't have much expertise in the area of landscaping, so she had set that aside. She was staring at carpet and wallpaper samples when Sonny walked in. He had to smile seeing her so engrossed with this project. She had been smiling and laughing so much lately. He rarely saw her sitting alone anymore. She was always taking care of the boys or some details with the center. The sight of her with such purpose, joy and peace did wonders for his heart. It was such a change from the young defeated girl that had shown up a few months ago. He knew Jason would be glad to see her doing so well. Jason and Sam had just gotten back today. He hadn't wanted Emily to know. He wanted it to be another surprise for her. They had gone back to the penthouse to get unpacked and changed. They'd be here in about an hour and he knew Emily would be so happy to see Jason. Emily looked up to see him standing there watching her. As soon as she made eye contact, he flashed her his famous smile.

"What are you grinning at Mr. Corinthos? Is there something amusing about a woman practically buried in carpet and wallpaper swatches?"

"Not really. I'm just smiling because it does my heart good to see you doing something that you care so deeply about. You've come so far in such a short time, given what you've been through, and I'm so proud of you. Watching you beat this has encouraged me to be a better person and to try and let go of some of the things in my past."

Emily got up from where she was sitting, walked over to Sonny and hugged him. At first, the contact sent electricity to Sonny's whole body, but he still managed to give her a friendly hug. "What is that for?" Emily let him go and took his hands in hers. "That's one small way for me to thank you for doing this for me. This has been such an amazing project to be involved with so far. Not only does it mean something for me, it's going to mean something special to all the women who are going to come to the center."

Sonny smiled at her again. He couldn't help it. When she got so excited about this project, her joy was infectious. "Do you think you could handle two more surprises?"

Emily's smile got really big. "I'm not sure. Given the enormity of your last surprise, I'm don't know if I could handle two more. But I'm going to brace myself and hope for the best. What are the two surprises?"

"I'm not going to tell you about the first one, but it will be here in about 45 minutes. The second surprise are some pictures from the site. They've already got all the foundations for the buildings started, and both the pool are dug and filled already. I made them turn on the fountain in the pond so you could see it working. Do you want to see the pictures?"

"Of course I wanna see the pictures!" Emily was practically jumping up and down on the couch with excitement. Sonny handed her the pictures and her hands were shaking as she opened the envelope. The first picture was of the pond with the fountain in the middle. She stared at it for about thirty second, and as she did, the smile faded from her face. "Is there something wrong with it Emily?"

"It's amazing Sonny. I know this is a still picture of it, but it's still amazing. I really hope that this will inspire the women who go to the center. I think making it one of the first things they see as they drive up to the center was a really good idea." She flipped to the next picture which was of the pool. It consisted of five different areas. The main pool was four feet deep at the shallow end, and seven foot deep at the deep end. At the shallow end of that pool were two shallow pools. One was only a foot deep for really small children, and the other one was three feet deep, for older children who weren't quite ready for the shallow end of the big pool. On the deep side of the pool was a rock wall that had a waterfall coming over the top of it and plunging down into a narrow canal. The narrow canal ran down under the diving board into the main pool. It was part of the water recirculating system for the pool, to try and keep it fresh and clean. On each side of the rock wall were two hot tubs. "I really like the way this looks. It will help the women feel more like they're on vacation. It looks great." The next couple pictures were the foundations and some of the framing for the main building. It was going to be a five story building when it was complete. The top four floors would each have 25 rooms, while the main floor would have all the offices, the theater, the cafeteria and all the meeting rooms. The foundation was also set for the apartment buildings as well as the clinic.

As she flipped through these pictures, Emily had a feeling she had seen this place before. "I don't know what it is Sonny, but when I look at the pictures of this area, it seems so familiar to me. I'm not sure why that it."

Sonny knew why, but he feigned ignorance. "Maybe you have just pictured what it would look like in your head so many times, that it seems like you've already been there." Emily shook her head in disbelief. "I don't think that's it, but I can't be sure of that either. At any rate, the builders are making great progress. Hopefully the center will be open for business in another month or two. I'd like to make July 4th the opening day. Don't you think that Independence Day makes for a great theme for the opening?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea. How do you want to handle the opening? I know you had told me that you wanted the area to be remote so the women would truly feel safe there. How did you plan on getting the word out about the center?"

"I've already talked to the staff at a few of the local clinics that deal with women who are abused. They said they'd be happy to tell the women that come there about it. Quite a few of them actually said they'd be willing to volunteer from time to time at the center. I'd like to get a brochure done soon. But I'd need a picture of what it's supposed to look like. Maybe the architect could draw something up. And you'd have to provide a map to the place. I promise you that I won't peek at it. I'll send the specs to the printer for the brochure and have them send the finished product to the clinics directly. I also talked to Mac at the police station, and he said they'd make that information available to women they come in contact with who are victims of rape or domestic violence. So I think I've got all the right bases covered to make sure that we get some people there on opening day."

"Well Ms. Quartermaine, you've got everything well in hand it seems. I'm so proud of the work you've gotten done so far." Emily walked back over to the desk she had the wallpaper and carpet samples on and let out a sigh. "I just wish I had some help on the interior design. It would be nice to have another woman working on this with me. I'm not very good at this kind of thing. I know what looks nice, but all this information I've got to look through is starting to overwhelm me right now."

"Do you think I could help you out Emily?"

Emily looked up to see Jason and Sam standing in the doorway. They were both smiling at her. They looked so good. The vacation had done wonders for the both of them. Emily got up, and ran over to hug Jason. "I missed you so much Jase!" She hugged him for a minute, and then turned to look at Sonny. "Was this the other surprise?" Sonny smiled and nodded. "It's a very good surprise. I don't know how in the world you were able to keep this a secret though. You're good."

Everybody laughed as Sonny blushed a little bit. "I just did what I could to take care of Jason's little sister while he was gone. You two look great, by the way. I can see that your time away from Port Charles has been good for you."

"Jason took me to Italy and then Greece. He showed me all sorts of places that I'd never seen before. It was alot of fun. We really needed this time to get away and heal. Now, can you use my help on this project Emily? I'd love to have something to keep me busy now that I'm back."

"Of course you can help! This is gonna be so much fun now that you're here to help me out."

With that, both women went over to the desk and started looking at carpet and wallpaper samples. They smiled and giggled as girls do when they're together.

"Thanks for looking after her when I wasn't here. You're going to have to fill me in on everything that happened while I was gone."

"I was glad to be here for Emily. She's been such a blessing to me and the boys. As for some of the details, you're going to have to talk to her about them first. It's really not my place to tell you about some of the things. After you've had a chance to speak with her, I'll fill you in on the rest. Right now I've got one small thing to go take care of. I'll leave you alone with those two for now. Do you think you can handle it?" Sonny nudged him and laughed when Jason grimaced at him.

_"Why do I think I'm going to have to kill somebody by the time Emily's done telling me what's going on? I guess I better get it over with so it can be dealt with."_


	10. Chapter 10

Jason had let Emily and Sam do a little catching up and do some brainstorming about the project. Sam said she should be going so Emily and Jason could talk.

"I really want you to hear this too Sam. You are in love with my brother, and since you're going to help me with this project, I want you to know."

"Are you sure Emily? I don't want you to tell me something you don't want to."

Jason smiled at Sam and sat her down on the couch. "Emily wouldn't tell you something she didn't want to. She's hard headed like you are." Both women laughed at him. Then Emily sat down on the couch on the other side of Jason.

"A lot has happened since you guys left town. As you know, Nikolas was in jail, and his cousin Connor was working with me to try and frame Helena to get Nikolas freed from jail. As it turns out, Connor really had no intention of helping to free Nikolas. He wanted revenge on me and Nikolas for what happened with his wife."

Emily got up and walked over to the fireplace. She was quiet for a moment and then sat down.

"If you're not ready to tell us what happened Emily, you know you don't have to."

"I'm ready, it's just sometimes still so hard to talk about it. The night Nikolas was killed in prison, Connor raped me."

Jason shot up off the couch. "I'm gonna kill him!"

Emily walked over to Jason and hugged him. "You don't have to do that."

"Like hell I don't! He raped you!" Emily let go of him and stared at him until he calmed down a bit. "You don't have to kill him because he's already dead. That night, after he fell asleep I burned the cottage down to the ground with him in it."

Jason and Sam both looked at her with shock on their face.

_"This isn't my sister standing here. She wouldn't have ever done something like this."_

"I know, this is the last thing either of you probably would have expected from me. I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let him do that to me again."

"What if somebody finds out what you did Emily?" Jason shook his head, but Emily just smiled.

"Sonny took some men out to the site of the cottage and got rid of the ash and all traces of the cottage. There's no way anybody will ever be able to find out what happened there. Helena tried to make me think she had some type of proof, but I think it was just a bluff. You should have seen Sonny stand up to her for me. It was kind of funny."

"Helena is involved with this too?" Jason shook his head again.

_"I love you Emily, but what did you get yourself into here? It's a good thing I came back when I did."_

Sam got up off the couch and hugged Emily. "Jason might be upset at how everything looks right now, but I, for one, am so proud of you. Right now I get the feeling that you two really have some things to discuss that I don't think I need to know anything about."

"I still haven't told you how this relates to the project you're helping me with. Please sit down and let me explain it, and then Jason can have his time with me."

Sam and Jason both sat back down on the couch.

"A few days after Helena stopped by, Sonny took me and the boys to the island. It was so good for all of us. It was good for the boys because they were able to forget about Carly being at Ferncliff, and it was a way for me to put some distance between myself and the rape. While we were there, Sonny announced that he had a surprise for me. The surprise ended up being this center for women who are victims of rape or domestic violence. He did this partly for me, and partly for his mom Adella. In fact, the name of the center is going to be The Adella Bowen Center for Women's Safety and Wellness. It's going to be a place where women can meet for counseling, as well as a place where women and children can come to escape domestic violence. There's going to be rooms where support groups can meet, there's 100 rooms in the main building itself, and some apartment buildings for women who have children. There is also a clinic on the site to take care of any medical needs that need to be taken care of. I was totally blown away when Sonny surprised me with this. It's about the best thing anybody has ever done for me in my life."

"This sounds like a really huge project Emily. Do you think the two of us are going to be able to handle this by ourselves?"

"Well they've already laid all the foundations, and started on the pool and pond. The only things that still need to be taken care of are the interior designs, and the landscaping. I've hired a few landscape artists to draw up some plans for me and I'm going to pick the one I like the best. Aside from that, it's just a matter of getting brochures printed up to be handed out at free clinics and the police station for the grand opening on July 4th. I don't want it to be a huge public thing, but I want the women who will benefit from this to know about it. Right now Sonny is keeping the location of it a secret from me, which is driving me crazy. I think he likes driving me crazy. He's so good at it."

When Emily said the last sentence she was absolutely beaming. This didn't escape the notice of both Jason and Sam. "Then it's settled, Emily. I'm looking forward to working on this with you. This is gonna be so powerful to the women who are helped because of it. If I didn't respect you enough before, just for standing up to your family for Jason, you've certainly earned more from me now. You're an amazing woman. You must get that from Jason, even if you guys aren't biologically related to each other." With that Sam winked at Emily, gave Jason a quick kiss and headed out.

Jason waited until Sam closed the door. Then he sat down on the couch and motioned for Emily to come sit down with him.

"Jason please don't worry about this. Sonny made absolutely sure that Helena can't prove I did anything to Connor. He took very good care of me while you were gone. He knew that if he didn't, that you wouldn't be very happy with him. It was actually funny watching him go toe to toe with Helena. I wish you could have seen him."

Jason sat quietly for a moment. "I'm sorry Emily."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for Jase."

"I wasn't here when you needed me. If I had been here, maybe Connor..."

Emily put her hand on Jason's mouth. "Don't even think that way Jase. It's not your fault that Connor raped me. I took care of him and he'll never hurt me or anybody else ever again."

"But you shouldn't have had to take care of him. That's my job, and I failed you."

"You did NOT fail me Jason! Don't you ever think that again, you hear me?"

Jason nodded hesitantly. "Well I'm here now, and I'll make sure nothing happens to you ever again."

"Sometimes I think you and Sonny get your material from the same person. You do realize how much you say the same things he says, don't you?" Emily giggled and nudged Jason in the ribs.

"I'm glad Sonny has been here for you. But I'm here now, and I'll take care of you."

"You BOTH can take care of me. I knew I'd be safe here while you were gone. You were the one who told me to come to Sonny if I needed anything while you were gone. That was good advice. I wish you knew how much being here helping Sonny with the boys has meant to me. I wouldn't be as well as I am now if it hadn't been for them. I'm not ready to leave this place yet. I feel like I'm part of an actual family here, and I really need that right now."

"Alright, I guess I can share my sister with my best friend. It's the least I owe him for doing such a good job of taking care of you."

"I only took good care of her because it's what you would have done."

Jason looked up to see Sonny smiling at Emily. He had seen the way Emily's eyes had lit up the second he showed up, and he didn't like it, not one bit.

_"I've got to find some way to make this 'thing', whatever it is, go away."_


End file.
